Systems wherein wastes are conveyed in piping by means of a pressure difference or suction are known in the art. In these, wastes are conveyed long distances in the piping by sucking. It is typical to these systems that a partial-vacuum apparatus is used to achieve a pressure difference, in which apparatus negative pressure is brought about in the conveying pipe with partial-vacuum generators, such as with vacuum pumps or with an ejector apparatus. A conveying pipe typically comprises at least one valve means, by opening and closing which the replacement air coming into the conveying pipe is regulated. Inlet points, such as refuse chutes, are used in the systems at the material input end, into which inlet points material, such as waste material, is fed and from which the material to be conveyed is conveyed into a conveying pipe by opening a discharge valve means. The conveying of wastes occurs mainly by the aid of a pressure difference produced by an air flow. The air flow is generally brought about by sucking air through the piping. Also known in the art are solutions wherein a pressure difference for conveying wastes is achieved with a blowing system. Waste material, such as e.g. waste material packed into bags, is conveyed from an inlet point into a conveying pipe and onwards into a separating device, where the wastes are separated from the transporting air. In connection with the separating device can be a transfer means, such as a transfer means arranged into a cylinder-piston combination, with which transfer means the wastes are displaced from the separating device into a waste container, e.g. into a freight container. These types of solutions comprising a separate separating device, e.g. a cyclone separator, and a waste container separate to it, are well suited to extensive systems in which the space requirements of the waste station do not set limitations. Also known in the art are solutions wherein waste material is conducted in a conveying pipe directly into a waste container, which simultaneously functions as a separating device. These are mainly intended for rather small systems. This type of waste container/separating device is often arranged to be a kind of freight container. In the art they are called horizontal separator containers. A problem in prior-art combinations of a waste container and separating device, more particularly in horizontal separator containers, is that in them a part of the material, or certain types of materials, remain in the container space loosely packed and thus take up space.
In addition, the wastes intended for transporting can be different in their properties, e.g. very different types of waste allotments to be transported can be arranged in waste bags. These have different properties, e.g. mass, which essentially affect inter alia the speed at which a waste bag displaces in the conveying piping and from the piping into the waste container/separating device. The conveying speed of the waste material in the piping is typically dimensioned according to the heaviest in mass. Also the conveying distance in the piping affects the speed needed. In this case the speed of light waste material from the piping into the waste container/separating device is high, in which case the waste material collides into the container space of the waste container/separating device at a speed that causes the waste bag used in transporting the waste material to break. This is detrimental particularly in application sites in which different waste allotments are left to be transported from an inlet point along conveying piping into a waste container/separating device and the final sorting of the transported waste bags occurs e.g. only at the waste station to which the waste container/separating device is transported. At the waste station the sorting of waste can be performed e.g. with a color identification and/or with an RFID identification arranged in connection with the waste bags and/or in some other suitable manner. It is obvious that the breakage of waste bags hampers sorting and also causes hygiene problems.
The aim of the present invention is to achieve an entirely new type of solution in connection with a pneumatic wastes conveying system. Another aim of the invention is to achieve a solution, by means of which the problems of prior art are avoided. One aim of the invention is to achieve a solution by the aid of which the container space of a waste container/separating device can be efficiently filled with material. The aim of the invention is also to achieve an apparatus, by the aid of which breakages of the material being transported or breakages of the transport container, such as a bag or sack, of the material being transported can be reduced when feeding the material into a waste container/separating device.